UW to Celebrate National Fossil Day With Activities, Speaker Oct. 16

Visitors can explore mammal and bird skulls -- both modern
and fossil -- as well as ancient plants when dinosaurs ruled the earth. There
also will be opportunities to learn how paleontologists prepare fossil
specimens, and patrons can touch real fossils and participate in self-guided activities.
There will be coloring stations and puzzles for children.

The open house is free to all ages.

“Our
goal in organizing this event is for visitors to gain a deeper appreciation for
the fossil wealth of our state, and a better understanding of how important
these fossils are in helping scientists interpret major events in Earth
history, including the evolution and diversification of life on our planet,”
says Mark Clementz, interim director of UW’s Geological Museum and an associate
professor of paleobiology in the Department
of Geology and Geophysics.

Brian Switek, a freelance
science writer and dinosaur aficionado, will be the event’s guest speaker. His
talk is scheduled at 6 p.m. in room 216 of the Geology Building. His books
include “My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science and
Our Favorite Dinosaurs” and “Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record and
Our Place in Nature.”

In addition to the hundreds of essays he has written for the
blogs Laelaps and Dinosaur Tracking, Switek also has contributed articles to
Slate, the Wall Street Journal, Nature, Scientific American, New Scientist,
Times of London, Smithsonian, WIRED Science, ScienceNOW, the Guardian and
numerous academic journals, according to his website.

National Fossil Day was established to promote the
educational and scientific value of fossils. The event first took place in 2010
during Earth Science Week.